Naruto: Light of the Empire
by variable63
Summary: The Empire that Naruto, his wife Hinata, and their allies, forged together, is threatened by enemies old and new. Naruto, master of the Rinnegan, faces his greatest challenge yet as he battles against powers he's never seen before, to protect those he cares for. This is a continuation of the story "Naruto: Wrath of the Emperor" by Snafu the Great. NaruHina story.
1. Chapter 1

Hi. This is a continuation of the great story by Snafu the Great titled "Naruto:Wrath of the Emperor". If you haven't read that, please do so first. Besides being a great story, none of my story will make much sense without the background. Snafu has said he is done writing Naruto stories, which makes me sad, but I have a lot of ideas for continuing on. He has given me his blessing, so I hope you enjoy. This is my first FanFic, so feedback is always welcome.

Chapter 1: A Simple Ruling

_Minato Namikaze had become famous for using the Flying Thunder God to annihilate a sizable portion of Iwagakure shinobi. Now, Konoha and Sound had gotten a full taste of the combined wrath of the Yondaime and of the Emperor. First a crimson flash, followed by a yellow flash, and the dying started._

_When the flash faded, carnage was left behind. Kushina and Kurama had cut down a number of shinobi from both sides. Naruto had cut down Sakura Haruno and Tsunade and Orochimaru were mortally wounded, Naruto placing a special seal designed to nullify his powers before severing his spine. Tsunade had been stabbed repeatedly by Kushina, the wounds causing her to bleed internally._

_"Behold," Naruto began, arms spread out, looking around the ruined village, "the end result of your betrayal."_

_"N...Naruto..." Tsunade pleaded. "Please...don't destroy Konoha...I'm sorry for betraying you...please...show mercy..."_

_"Mercy? I don't show mercy to traitors. Now, it's time to end this," Naruto stated calmly as he retrieved Sasuke's Chokuto and Orochimaru's Kusanagi as trophies of war. Turning to the dying Tsunade and Orochimaru, he gave them his final words, ignoring Sasuke's screams. "The both of you won't die just yet. You will live long enough to see Konoha burn. I think what I have in store for Konoha's fate is fitting. Farewell."_

_The bijuu queen and the Namikaze family then vanished via shunshin._

_Outside of Konohagakure..._

_Kushina placed one hand over her husband's own. "Minato. I'm sorry, but this had to be done. It's hard for me too."_

_Minato sighed. "I know." He turned to his son. "Naruto, you know what to do."_

_His son nodded. "Kurama, level the village."_

_"__Gladly,__" the fox replied._

_The Bijuu's signature attack was the Bijuudama – the Bijuu Bomb. It is also considered the strongest of the bijuu's techniques. Now that Minato Namikaze's soul was released by the Shinigami, Kurama's Yin chakra had been restored, Kurama was back at full power._

_"Fire." Naruto calmly commanded._

_Kurama fired the Bijuudama._

_Three years later…_

First Sovereign Emperor of the Unified West, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was so engrossed in visions from the past, he almost did not notice his wife, Hinata Namikaze, Empress Consort of the Unified West, enter their bedroom.

As Naruto gazed out the window above the desk he now sat at, Hinata silently walked up behind her husband. She didn't kid herself, she could be as quiet as a whisper, but Naruto always knew when she was near. As she encircled her arms around his shoulders, 'What troubles you my love?" she whispered knowing full well that it was the anniversary of the destruction of Konoha, and he always got moody on this day.

"Did we do the right thing Hime," he said, his voice strained, "did we?"

"Absolutely Naruto!" she reassured him. "Konoha had become a threat to stability in the East, and therefore a threat to the interests of the Empire. You did what you had to for the benefit of all. Please don't torture yourself."

"I know that." Naruto said as he rose. He turned to Hinata and said, "I've always believed in the chance for redemption though, no matter your crimes, if you were truly repentant. Did they all deserve to die? If you tell me they did, I'll believe you."

Hinata took a deep breath before responding, "All of them, Naruto, all of them deserved to die. They had ruined the dream of Konoha, and squandered the Will of Fire. Do not shed a tear for them dear." She gently grasped both sides of his face as she gazed into his eyes, "You are here with your family that loves you, and the people of an empire that adore you, and ALL of us believe you did what was right, and just."

He paused as he felt himself drawn into those twin, lavender colored pools that were his wife's eyes. "You always know what to tell me Hime. Whether I want to hear it or not, it's always what I need. That's why I love you so much. You've always been there for me."

Hinata giggled as she said, "And here I thought it was how I looked in a low-cut leather jumpsuit!"

"Hi-Hime, please!" was all he managed before he started blushing.

"I can still fluster him." she thought wryly as she cutoff his stammering with a deep kiss which he returned fiercely.

The moon was passing by their window allowing beams of weak light to play throughout the room as Naruto carried his still giggling wife to bed.

Many kilometers west of the Empire, across the body of water known as the Dead Swells, due to its notoriously rough seas that claimed more than their share of sea going vessels, rose a 12 story tower. The tower seemed to radiate a malevolence that made outsiders blanch at the sight of it. The tower was festooned from the ground to the very tip with statues and carvings of dragons, evil-looking human hybrids, and creatures not seen since the days the Old Gods walked the Earth. The most amazing feature of the tower however, was what rested beneath it, Yami no Toshi, the City of Darkness, or just simply Yami to its inhabitants. The sprawling city was 10 square kilometers and went down roughly 500 meters. Directly in line with the tower, almost a kilometer down, was a chamber, 50 meters in diameter, which housed the power generation. A pulsating and undulating sphere of bluish purple energy, 25 meters in diameter, rested in a magnetic containment vessel which had massive conduits connected to it at various points. Beneath the containment field was a shaft that was said to go to the center of the planet. If one was brave enough to lean over the handrail that surrounded the field, and look down, you could see an orange glow coming from the "bottom" of the shaft. How far down the shaft went was anyone's guess. Personnel who manned the station had to be rotated out every 6 months, or the "voices in the machinery" would drive them insane.

Much of Yami's Eastern border was connected to the cliff face that ran North and South for many kilometers. This imposing cliff wall was pocked with platforms and balconies, many of which carried weapons. There was an enormous 500 meter wide, 100 meter high gap in the wall which acted as access to the elaborate harbor inside the cliff. This harbor could easily house 100 ships or more, from trade ships to mammoth warships. The harbor entrance was protected by an enormous seawall that ran 300m out to sea and was 20m high.

This night, dark clouds were above the city and had started swirling around the tip of the tower. Unnatural energy in the form of blue/purple lighting occasionally arced from the clouds to the tip of the tower. Inside the tip of the tower was a chamber less than 10m in diameter with 6 figures surrounding a circular, raised dais. The hoods, and loose-fitting robes, made their sexes indecipherable. One had a staff with a glowing circular head, and from the timbre of her chanting, you could tell she was a woman. The other 5 were softly chanting ancient words of power, as their bodies started swaying to the rhythm of their chants.

The woman was striking her staff on the floor, as if to emphasize certain words as she intoned them.

"Hate! Blood! Death! Revenge!"

As her mantra rose in volume, blue energy seemed to drip from the tower's pinnacle and coalesce in front of her face. At first, the steadily growing ball of energy lacked form, but as the chanting increased to a fevered pitch, the ball started rotating, faster and faster. As the leader slammed the butt of her staff into the floor, she emphasized each word until she was almost shouting.

"Hate!" A face started to form in the energy ball…

"Blood!" Details were starting to appear on the face…

"Death!" Spiky hair the color of a sunset, and a lop-sided grin…

"Revenge!" The face of the Emperor of the Unified West hovered in the ball of energy as the chanting reached a crescendo.

As she brought her staff down with the strength of a deep-seated hatred, the tower shook as every torch and candle in the room suddenly flared to life. The visage of the Emperor disappeared as the spinning ball of energy suddenly became a black viscous fluid which dropped down into a waiting bowl. The woman leaned on her staff and peered at the fluid. She imagined she could hear it hissing in the bowl. This brought a smile to her lips.

The ceremony now completed, one of the hooded figures made their way to the woman and her glowing staff.

"The Gods have answered your prayers my queen." he said.

"Of course they did Kyo, I am the vessel for their will!" she flared.

With a mental sigh, Kyo thought to himself, "Impudent woman! Why the Gods chose you baffles me! I must bide my time however. I'm sure, given time you will make a misstep, and I will be there to seize favor!" Outwardly he said, "Of course my lady. I meant no disrespect."

"I take it the preparations are proceeding as planned? I grow impatient Kyo."

"The patient hunter gets the prey." he responded, "The Lord of Shadows teaches us to hide in the shadows, bide our time, and strike when…"

She cut him off, "Do not patronize me old man! I know the teachings!" she clenched her fist as she slowly said, "I demand justice, for myself and my children, and I will NOT be denied!" With that, she spun on her heal, and stalked towards the elevator.

Kyo gave a mental shrug as he watched the elevator doors close and hide his queen. "I wonder what will kill me first, old age, or the righteous fury of the bitch queen?" he muttered. He was not betting on old age.

Morning light was streaking through his bedroom window as Naruto turned off his alarm. "Remind me to have the East window blocked up Hime!" he yelled as he tried to cover his face with a pillow. He didn't really expect an answer. Naruto was never a morning person, but he felt he was getting better over the years. Hinata on the other hand rose before the sun, and had her day well underway before Naruto did.

With an exasperated sigh, the Emperor of the Unified West rolled out of bed. Looking at the mountain of paperwork on his desk, he sighed, channeled his will, and said, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Three clones popped into existence by the desk.

"You guys know the drill, yes?" The three clones looked at the paper stack and nodded.

The middle clone winked his eye and said cheerily, "Gotcha boss! And if you ever need help with the missus, we're here to help with that too."

Naruto spun on his heal already making the hand sign to release the clone, storm clouds forming above his head. The other two clones, eyes wide, were staring at the offending clone as if he had just sprouted a second head. They backed away hoping not to share in his impending doom.

Before he could force his will into the release, the clone was waving his hands, "Oy, Oy, Oy!" he stammered, "I was only kidding! We all know how you feel about her! We feel the same way! But you're the friggin' Emperor! If we can't bust your balls, who can?" he said with a lop-sided grin.

"Just get to work." Naruto said as he lowered his hand and turned to leave.

"Just keep an open mind boss, is all I'm sayin'!" the clone said.

Naruto spun back again, channeled his will, and yelled, "RELEASE!"

"Aaaiiieee-! Was all the clone managed before POOF! he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Anyone else care to bust my balls!?" Naruto glared a challenge at clones 1 and 3.

The clones, who just now remembered how to blink, glanced nervously from Naruto to the paperwork. Number 3 said, "Heeeey, look at this, something about a petition against Pekara Merchant House."

Number 1 flicked his eyes to the paper. "Huh. Maaaaybe we should, ummm, look into that?" he said glancing back to Naruto.

Confident his clones were all business now, Naruto strode out to meet up with his wife after he freshened up.

Minutes later, he walked into the garden, where he knew Hinata was. He was dressed in his casual black leather armor with crimson trim, his O-katana strapped to his back.

When he turned the corner, his breath was taken away by the sight of his wife. This morning she was dressed in a white kimono dress with lavender flowers which flowed around her while she performed the kata the two of them had developed. Her waist-long hair was unbound and flew around her head, as if it had a mind of its own, as she spun.

Hinata smiled to herself as she detected her husband's arrival. She could hear his heart flutter as he saw her. Enhanced hearing was a gift of becoming the Third Fox Sage. She refocused however, on her kata, because she wanted to show Naruto how she had improved with the katana.

The words of her sensei Sonshi floated through her head…

"Fighting, is like a dance, in which two partners rehearse choreographed moves until they become instinct, and then dance to the tempo of ringing steel..." he said with a rare smile on his lips, "…also, experience is what you get immediately after you needed it. The trick is, to find steadily better dance partners until your experience can be called wisdom."

She was so immersed in her kata she did not notice Naruto had joined her and was matching her movements perfectly.

With their kata complete, the couple faced each other. Naruto said, "Katana, I see eh? Sonshi finally convince you to use a longer blade?"

"Yes..." she smiled proudly, "… I'm still not convinced however, although Sonshi sensei said I have greatly improved and show great potential."

"Show me." Naruto said with a grin.

The clash of steel as Naruto and Hinata crossed swords, brought onlookers, including three of the Empire's most trusted advisers: Hiashi Hyuga, current head of the Hyuga clan, and father of Hinata, Ay, deposed Raikage of Kumo, whom Naruto had saved during the coup to remove him, and Kurama the nine tailed fox's very human, very female form.

"Yes!" Ay declared pumping his fist, "Nothing gets my blood pumping like the ring of battle!"

With a practiced eye, Kurama could see, even though Naruto was on the offensive, Hinata was putting on a brilliant display of defensive maneuvers, baiting Naruto into taking a risk she could exploit. Kurama decided to do some baiting of her own.

"Hmmm... Naruto really seems to be on his game today, but I bet Hinata could maybe pull it off."

"Hinata is over matched Kurama. She has not attempted any strikes at all, and she will eventually lose with that strategy." Hiashi said with a scowl.

"I've got 1000 ryo that says Naruto wins the duel!" Ay said with enthusiasm.

"Now to set the hook..." Kurama thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Make it 2000 and you've got a bet."

"Done!" Ay said with an emphatic nod of his head.

Kurama slid her eyes to Hiashi who nodded once with a typical Hyuga grunt thrown in. The fishing done, she turned back to the randori with a predatory grin to see what she had landed.

Naruto was beginning to doubt Hinata was going to go on the offensive at all. So he was surprised when he took a horizontal slash at Hinata's head, and instead of parrying, she corkscrewed her body towards the ground spinning clockwise while his sword passed harmlessly overhead. He recognized that she would try to sweep his legs as she spun past, so he transferred his sword to his left hand and cartwheeled to his right, timing Hinata's rotation so he could dodge the leg sweep. It was in this position, upside down with his right hand planted on the floor and his sword in front of him poised for a counterstrike, that time seemed to stop for Naruto as he realized he had made two crucial mistakes. First, he had forgotten his wife has such precise chakra control, she can discharge it through her hands and feet, almost like a propulsion system for her limbs, and if she packs her body in tight enough, can significantly increase her rotational speed. Second, he fell for Hinata's leg sweep feint, as instead of extending her leg along the floor, she uncurled to a standing position, and upon completing her 720th degree of rotation in the last second, planted a perfectly executed, chakra assisted, roundhouse kick to his midsection.

With an explosion of air, and an, "OOF!" Naruto rocketed away from Hinata to impact against the wall.

"Good thing I'm wearing armor," thought the not-so-dignified Emperor, "or she would have punched my liver out my back!"

"Ooooooh!" was all Ay could manage as Naruto slid down the wall on to his head, and then crumpled to the ground.

Kurama had a smug look on her face as she looked back and forth between Ay and Hiashi. "Time to pay up yet?" she said while managing to keep from gloating.

"Hell no…" Ay said, "…this is just starting to get good!"

As if on cue, Naruto pulled himself up off the floor, and wiped his mouth with the back of his sword hand.

Slapping his stomach, Naruto exclaimed, "Good hit Hime!"

"Thank you love!" she said as she bowed her head. "Do you give up yet?"

With a click! and a snikt!, Naruto split his special weapon into two swords.

"As expected." Hinata breathed, a grin spreading on her face. She crouched into a fighting stance to await Naruto's assault. "That's why I love him." she thought to herself.

She didn't wait long as Naruto leaped into the air for his next attack. Cartwheeling in midair, he swiped at Hinata with a double overhead slash.

She deftly parried both weapons with her katana and ninjato.

"Just when the hell did she draw her ninjato?!" Naruto wondered to himself. "Damn, she's fast."

Naruto decided to try some high-powered double-handed spinning slashes to get her to thinking about high attacks so he could attack her low. When he decided the time was right, he did a horizontal slash with his left hand, while performing a lunge with his right hand.

As he came around and started his attack, he turned his head to sight Hinata, and instead came face to face with Sasuke, blood running from his eyes with their swirling red pupils.

"Why did you have to kill me Dobe?" he asked, his teeth covered in blood.

Naruto blinked, and Sasuke was replaced by Hinata once again. He had hesitated though, and he knew it would cost him, in more ways than one.

Hinata saw the attack coming (she didn't remember activating her byakugan). "I have to be precise! I can do it!" she thought to herself.

Hinata brought her katana up to cross block Naruto's. As she let Naruto's blade slide up her own, she simultaneously, reversed the grip on her ninjato, while slamming it down to deflect his thrust outward, away from her. She then threw her left hip forward to ensure the strike would not land. When she deemed Naruto had committed enough to his attack, she winced inwardly for what was to come next.

In what looked like a flash to the onlookers, Hinata brought the butt of her katana down hard on Naruto's right hand, at a pressure point she knew would cause temporary numbness and paralysis in his hand, and she clamped down with her left elbow, trapping Naruto's right-hand weapon against her hip. She then released chakra to rapidly spin herself counter-clockwise. This had the effect of ripping Naruto's weapon free and flinging it across the garden, where it imbedded itself in the wall between Kurama and Ay. Neither adviser flinched however, they were so engrossed in the ongoing struggle.

Hinata continued and accelerated her spin as she once again corkscrewed her body towards the ground.

"Not this time Hime!" Naruto thought to himself as he threw his knee towards his wife's downturned head.

Hinata used both hands crossed in front of her face to deflect his knee as her chakra-accelerated foot struck Naruto's remaining foot so hard, he flipped 450 degrees before landing hard on his back.

Hinata stopped her 3rd rotation by slamming her right foot down on Naruto's outstretched left wrist, pinning his remaining weapon there, while she drew her katana, which she had switched to a reverse grip, to his throat.

"How about now love?" Hinata asked a big smile spreading across her face.

"I give up." he wheezed.

Kurama yelled, "WHOO HOO! She did it! Pay up suckers!"

As Hinata listened to the fox in human form collect her winnings, she released Naruto's wrist and straddled her husband.

She brought her face to within centimeters of his and whispered, "What's wrong? Please don't lie to me. I could see it in your eyes." her eyes narrowing.

Naruto hesitated as he looked into her eyes.

"What do I tell her? What do I say?" he thought to himself.

Tears of concern started to well up in her eyes as Naruto couldn't find his voice.

Their time for discussion was coming to a close as Kurama danced towards the couple. She stopped halfway though and spun to face the dejected men.

"YOU should have more faith in your daughter Hiashi! This is NOT Konoha…" she yelled pointing a finger at him. "…and YOU should know better!" stabbing a finger at Ay.

Hinata stood up, but not before softly saying, "This is not over."

Her demeanor brightened as Kurama bounded towards Hinata to wrap her in a bear hug. "I knew you could do it! That was masterfully done Lady Hinata!"

Kurama beamed at her former student as she proudly exclaimed, "I would expect no less from the Third Fox Sage!"

"I have recently come into a great deal of money!" she whispered in Hinata's ear, "We MUST do some shopping next Unification Festival." Hinata's eyes shone as both women got a case of the giggles.

Naruto groaned as Hiashi and Ay helped lift the Emperor of the Unified West back to his feet. Ay was dusting him off as he said, "We have a little over an hour before today's petitioners boss. We have to get you ready."

Naruto brushed Hiashi's and Ay's hands away as he turned to his wife, and placing his hands at his sides, he bowed deeply to her.

Touched by his acknowledgement, she returned the gesture. "I love you." She said as she raised her head.

"I love you too." he replied through gritted teeth. He still managed a lop-sided grin however.

He then silently turned and walked towards their private bath for a well-deserved soak, Ay and Hiashi on either side trying to pre-brief him on the petitioners who's cases he was about to hear.

Hinata, her brow furrowed in concern for her husband, started to make her way to follow him.

"I would not worry overmuch my Empress…" Kurama said softly, "… his body will heal. It's his pride that will take awhile."

Hinata nodded silently as she walked after her husband, not wanting to tell Kurama about the haunted look she had seen in Naruto's eyes during their randori.

Inside the palace proper was the Hall of Commons, where the Emperor would be called on to mediate disputes between parties who had failed to find common ground through the court systems. The emperor would listen to both sides and make his judgment. The catch was however, the emperor's word was final, there was no appeal process, so to come here was almost considered an act of desperation.

The two brothers, Eiichi and Eito Tachibana were desperate. The family business, "Tachibana Emporium" was on the brink of bankruptcy. Eiichi, as the eldest, bore the shame of his family's business failing.

He had nightmares, where his father, Fusao Tachibana, would glower at him, "Eiichi! How could you be so incompetent, how could you lose my business?!" Even though his father had passed away 10 years ago, his spirit still managed to torment him.

Eito roused him from his reverie, "Brother, are you sure it's wise to come here? The Emperor's word is final! Shouldn't we wait for the courts to hear our appeal of their last decision? Surely they will come to see reason and favor our business?"

"If we wait on the courts, there won't BE a business fool!"

From his brother's reaction, Eiichi realized his tone had been a little harsher than he had intended. He softened his tone when he said, "Eito, the Pekara Merchant House wants us to use the courts, to prolong this dispute, until we have no more money. Then they will win by default."

"But…"

"No buts Eito…" Eiichi interrupted, "I am the eldest and you will obey me!"

With that, the discussion was over. Both brothers went back to their own silent musings, one worried about an uncertain future, the other dwelling on the past.

While the brothers brooded, the Empire's first couple relaxed in their private bath.

With a heavy satisfied sigh, Naruto said, "If this is losing, I don't ever want to win."

Hinata stopped rubbing his shoulders, having already scanned his body with her byakugan, and finding no internal injuries, she slid into the water next to her husband. "We're alone now love, and I want to know what's troubling you." she said.

Naruto sighed wishing, not for the first time, to have the old Hinata back that would faint every time she saw him. "I have a bad feeling Hime…" he started, "… I don't know how to explain it."

Gently, trying to understand, Hinata said, "OK, during our randori, during your last attack…" Naruto winced as he recalled spinning through the air, "… when your eyes looked at me, it seemed like you were surprised to see me, just for a split second, but I know what I saw."

Naruto nodded his head as he remembered, "I had a vision Hime..." his voice almost a whisper, "… when I came around, I didn't see you, I saw Sasuke. His eyes were bleeding, and he looked rough, and he said 'Why'd you kill me dobe'. It was gone in a flash though."

Hinata's eyes grew wide when she heard this, but she never doubted her husband. "It must be the stress…" she said, "… every year around this time, you get in a thoughtful mood. With how much pressure you've been under, I'm not surprised with a vision or two."

"But this time just feels different..." Naruto said, "… almost like a warning or something."

Hinata, ever the patient one, placed her hand on her husband's cheek and said, "Ru, I promise you you're not having premonitions. Even if something does happen to be coming, I'll be here by your side. Me, Ay, Kurama, and all the rest will never leave you. You are never alone."

Naruto grasped his wife's hand, and brought it to his lips, where he kissed her palm. "I love you Hime."

"I love you too…" she breathed as she raised her lips to his.

Despite the nagging feeling in the back of his head, while he kissed his wife, Naruto, as he always came back to, decided that he liked this version of Hinata much better.

Refreshed and dressed in their formal attire, The Emperor and his consort led an entourage of advisers to the Hall of Commons. As he came around the last bend in the corridor before the Hall, he put his arms out and stopped. Hinata and Kurama peered around the corner to see what had piqued his interest. Roughly 5 meters further down, in the middle of the corridor, rested an inconspicuous looking toy dragon. Just beyond that on the floor, laid what looked like a child's drawing of a tiger.

The group backed up until they were out of sight of the items, then about a minute later, they re-emerged, Ay, his perpetual scowl etched in stone on his face, was in the lead. He was followed by Naruto who was flanked by his wife on one side, and Kurama on the other.

Naruto assumed the trap was to be sprung when he was in the kill zone between the two objects. He was not disappointed. As he stepped over the toy dragon, both it and the piece of paper exploded into puffs of smoke.

From the smoke that used to be a drawing, exploded a pint-sized, 4 year old girl. Moka Namikaze, with her mother's lavender eyes, and her father's gift for mischief yelled, "Crouching Tiger!" as she planted her feet on her dad's chest, pushing him backward, while also grabbing his collar.

The other puff of smoke morphed into the heir apparent, Minato Namikaze, crouched on all fours behind his father's ankles. "Hidden Dragon!" he announced.

The attack worked flawlessly, as Naruto tripped over his son and fell flat on his back, Minato jumped up and landed on Naruto's right shoulder, pinning it to the ground, while Moka held down the left. "We win, we win!" they coursed together.

Naruto grinned at his children and said, "That was a great attack you two… well thought out and executed..." both children smiled broadly for the praise, "… but you forgot one little thing."

Both kids only had enough time to say, "Huh?" before 4 more smoke explosions occurred. When the smoke cleared, the clone the children had pinned to the ground was gone, and the two transformed clones of Naruto now held the squealing children by their feet, to be scrutinized by the real Naruto.

Naruto leaned down as he looked at his children. Moka, her eyes wide, had her balled fists against her mouth. Minato, for being upside down, remained calm. "What did you do wrong?" his father asked.

"We failed to take into account there might be shadow clones of you in your ranks." Minato calmly stated.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at Moka as he said, "And…?"

Moka hesitantly replied, "W-We were in the middle of the floor. We didn't hide… I think."

Naruto stood up and put a thoughtful expression on his face, tapping his chin with an index finger. "I have to agree!" Naruto exclaimed. As he turned to his wife, who had come around the corner with the rest of the smiling advisers, he asked, "So what punishment do you think?"

"Punishment!?" Minato blurted, Moka returning her fists to her mouth.

Hinata nodded, then explained, "Of course punishment… how else will you remember the lesson?" As she turned to her husband, she asked, "Would 1000 be too much?"

"Not at all!" announced Naruto.

Both children looked at their father nervously as he crouched into a fighting position, both hands raised in front of his face. "1000 Tickles of Death Jutsu!" he yelled.

Naruto's hands became blurs as he repeatedly tapped the dangling children, tickling them in their various tickle spots. Both the prince and the princess burst into peals of laughter as their "punishment" was meted out.

When he was done, Naruto nodded to the clones, who placed the children on their feet before disappearing.

Naruto, with one more look at his children, said, "Come on you two, we're almost late." He turned, and with a broad smile on his face, and Hinata, who was also smiling, on his arm, strode down the hall.

Ay picked up the children and placed one on each shoulder, as he followed his Emperor. "We'll get him next time." he said to the children with a wink for both.

In the Hall of Commons two hours later, Naruto was readying to hear the last case for the day. He rubbed his temples and nodded in gratitude as a servant brought a fresh cup of hot tea, and placed it on the desk next to his chair. He preferred to try to relate to the commoners, so there was no throne in this Hall, only a large desk with three chairs behind for himself, Hinata, and usually Ay, but sometimes Kurama.

To the side of the desk was a box with seats for advisers and honored guests. Today Naruto and Hinata's children, Minato and Moka, were seated there, flanked by Kasumi Aihara, the Minister of the Interior, and The Minister of Health, Kokoro Yamada.

As the petitioners, Eiichi and Eito Tachibana filed in, Naruto took their measure. Eito wore a simple business suit, and his eyes nervously flitted to and fro taking in the room, while trying to look inconspicuous. Eiichi looked almost regal in his flowing orange (orange?!) robes, but he carried himself with a stern demeanor, and his unflinching scowl never left the Emperor's desk.

While the Tachibana brothers were seating themselves at a desk which faced the Emperor's desk, the defendants in the case made their entrance. Ryujii and Haruka Shinzen, the co-Ministers of Finance for the Empire, and also co-founders of the Pekara Merchant House, walked calmly to sit in the desk adjacent to the plaintiff's desk. While Ryujii was the head of the clan, it was understood, Empire wide, that his wife Haruka was the motive force for the juggernaut known as Pekara.

Not to be "out-scowled" by the elder Tachibana, Ay did his best impression of a thundercloud in the flesh as he announced, "The petition of Tachibana Emporium against Pekara Merchant House."

Naruto started off by saying, "OK Tachibana, I'd really like to hear why you've brought a petition against me and the Empire."

Eiichi blanched as he stood up. "I've come too far to turn back now…" he thought to himself. Aloud, he said, "My Lord Emperor, I meant no disrespect, but there are, what I think to be, some unfair business practices going on at Pekara."

Naruto's brows knitted together, and he gave a sidelong glance to Hinata. "Uh, oh…" she thought to herself, "…usually when I see this look on his face, someone dies." Hinata held his gaze for a moment, trying to soothe Naruto's mood. Whether it worked or not, she would have to wait and see as Naruto turned his gaze to the eldest Tachibana.

Calmly and softly, (not always a good thing) Naruto said, "That is a pretty serious accusation Tachibana…" his eyes narrowed a bit, "… I hope you can back up your claims."

Eiichi unflinchingly returned the Emperor's gaze. He turned to his brother, who was currently vividly imagining over 100 colorful ways he was going to die today, and nodded to a stack of papers he was clutching. Started from his reverie, Eito sheepishly handed the stack to his elder brother.

Turning to the Emperor, stack of paper in hand, he gave a sidelong glance to the Pekara contingent before gazing at Naruto. "These documents show the efforts Pekara Merchant House have made to stunt the growth of my family's business, Tachibana Emporium, my Lord."

"I've read your documents Eiichi Tachibana." Naruto stated bluntly. The clones he had used earlier related the information on the documents when they were released. Eiichi seemed taken aback by the proclamation, but maintained his composure. Naruto continued, "I've read them, but I'm more interested in what you have to say. I want to hear it from your own mouth."

Eiichi was dumbfounded by the revelation offered by the Emperor. He stammered at first when he replied, "M-my Lord, I don't know where to begin." He glanced at his brother before turning back to Naruto and continuing, "Tachibana Emporium has been in my family for generations, since long before you unified the Empire. We prospered in the old regime. Then shortly after your victory came Pekara. They have lowered their prices to ridiculous levels to where I can't compete! They are always trying to maneuver us into a corner, in an attempt to take my family's legacy away from me!

Eiichi took a breath, looking to continue his rant, when Naruto lifted his hand, and the elder Tachibana's mouth went shut with an audible snap. "What do you have to say to these allegations Haruka?"

"My Lord, it's true our prices are lower than the Tachibana's, but it's with no malice that they are so. We just have a vast network of outposts that provides us a stability that allows us to charge less for our goods." Haruka said.

"You're vast because the Empire subsidizes your income! With funding like that, we could be just as big, if not bigger than your operation!" Eiichi thundered.

Hinata chimed in for the first time with, "We do not subsidize their operation Tachibana-san, we allocated money for them after their relief efforts during the war with the Akatsuki, and after their involvement with the incident with Konoha."

"But my lady, the heads of Pekara are your financial ministers!"

Naruto fielded that one with, "They're our financial ministers, because I suck with money, and as the owners of the largest financial establishment in the Unified West, I thought it would be best to listen to their advice."

Both Shinzens inclined their heads as they said, "We are honored to serve the Empire."

"Honored?! Rich more like…"

"We offered to buy your business. The profits from our generous offer would have allowed you to retire…"

"Pittance! It was a mere pittance for my family's legacy…!"

"… and when that failed, we offered you a loan so you could expand your business…"

"With interest! Interest you could use to further deplete our funds so you could line your greedy pockets…!"

"Enough!" Naruto's voice rose above the din, "I have heard enough bickering!"

Eiichi turned to the Emperor, "But my Lord, surely…"

"Silence!" Naruto's chakra enhanced voice was punctuated by his palm slamming against the desk with enough force to reverberate like a thunder-clap in the hall. "You're a greedy bastard Eiichi, bent on nothing but the accumulation of wealth! Instead of arguing with the Shinzens, you should be taking notes. As for being smaller than they are, I've won against a much bigger opponent than that…" Naruto remembered his epic battle with Gaara during the Chuunin exams, "… but now he's counted amongst my closest friends."

Naruto stood up as he looked sternly at Eiichi, "I deny your petition Tachibana Emporium!"

Each word hit Eiichi like a hammer-blow to the chest. He absently scraped his discarded stack of papers together, and he and Eito made their way out of the Hall.

Naruto almost felt bad, but he hoped he had instilled some fighting spirit into those two, especially the eldest.

Eiichi balled the papers in his fist, and angrily threw them in a trash can. "Brother…" was all Eito managed before Eiichi spun angrily to his brother.

"No more sniveling Eito! You heard the Emperor, there's no one to help us now! We must do this ourselves!"

"Y-you have a p-plan brother?" Eito stammered. When Eiichi told him his plan, Eito's face paled and his eyes grew wide. He knew better than to question his brother on business matters when he was in a mood. He had bruises to prove it.

Eiichi spun again after divulging his plan and stormed out of the Hall with Eito in tow.

Naruto nodded as he watched the retreating backs of the two brothers. He turned to Hinata who was also watching the figures leave the Hall, "Well, even with all the arguing, I still thought it was a pretty simple ruling."

Naruto turned to reach for his cup of tea, but was stopped by what he saw. The cup had a thin straight crack in the front, through which his tea was leaking onto his desk. As he contemplated the spreading pool of tea, the premonition of impending doom returning, he thought to himself, "I just wish whatever is coming, would just get here already."

Unseen by everyone in the Hall, including the brothers as they stormed by, the third dragon statue from the left had eyes that tracked the eldest Tachibana as he stalked by. He sighed inwardly and thought, "The die is cast…"

After the brothers left the Hall, his eyes returned to stare at Naruto, "… and so it begins."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thanks for the support in the form of followers and favorites. This story's publishing was a little unique in that I offered Snafu the Great first crack at the first chapter I wrote. After his blessings, I published it, and now I have to work like a mad man to continue the story. Have no fear, I'm committed though. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2: Interesting Times

It had been a whirlwind week since their audience with the Emperor for the Tachibana brothers. Eiichi was running to and fro, like a demon possessed. Eito spent most days like a scared rabbit trying to stay out of Eiichi's way.

"At least the day had dawned clear and bright…surely a good omen?" Eito wondered to himself. He stood on the pier in the quiet port city of Kurata Port, watching his brother make final preparation to board the waiting ship, and then face his destiny. The day had finally come, the point of no return, and Eito felt he had to make one last plea.

"Brother… are you sure there is no way I can talk you out of this madness?" Eito said, desperation creeping into his voice.

Eiichi finally stopped in his frenetic pace, slowly turned, and eyed his brother, much like he would an annoying insect. "What would you have me do Eito? Hmmm? You heard the Emperor…" the last word came out in a sneer, "…the time for timidity is past. We must be bold!"

"But West brother," Eito blurted, "why does it have to be West?!"

"Because North, South, and East have been done over and over and over!" Eiichi emphasized each "over" with hand gestures, a touch of hysteria entering his voice.

"Because they are safe!" Eito countered. He continued, "People go West, they don't come back! Please brother… see reason!"

"Safe?! There is no safe brother! I, Eiichi Tachibana will raise this family to glory, or die in the attempt!" Eiichi said. Eito could see the eyes of a zealot reflected in his brother's eyes. He realized any attempts to dissuade him would be pointless.

With no more words to say, Eiichi picked up his last bag, and made his way to the gangplank. As he reached it, he stopped and turned his head to cast one last look at his younger brother. Eito bowed slightly while Eiichi lowered his head in return. The moment over, Eiichi once again turned back to the gangplank, and began his ascent to meet his destiny. As Eito watched his brother, he could not shake the feeling that it was the last time he would ever see him.

It was the fifth day of the Unification festival and it was glorious! With the sun up, not a cloud in the sky, and only a slight breeze, it was the perfect day for three ladies to have a "Ladies Day Out". On the right was Koyuki Kazahana. She was the star of 2 movies (so far) based on the works of the now famous writer of romance novels, Murasaki Shibiku. She was dressed in a Green kimono with gold trim. Her dazzling smile was on display as she was repeatedly asked for autographs. In the middle of the trio was Koyuki's biggest fan, the Empress Consort of the Unified West, Hinata Namikaze. Dressed in a casual outfit, black with her signature violet flowers, she was probably the most powerful of the group, but surprisingly garnered the least attention, which suited her just fine. Kurama, the third in the group, was on the left. She wore a provocative outfit which consisted of little more than a vest cinched and clasped at her waist, which in essence meant her top was low cut to her navel, and a skirt which did little to hide her shapely legs. This semi-public display of her ample bosom caused more than one male to suddenly trip or walk into a wall, and a few husbands to incur the wrath of their wives as they were caught staring. These acts threw the three women into fits of giggling as they walked.

They were walking down one of the narrow streets leading to the "Capitol Bazaar". This was a huge square that once a year became home to people selling everything from trinkets, to exotic pets. There were stalls selling treats and sweet meats, things to drink, and there were also stalls with games for children to play. There were also games of skill for adults to try their luck to win prizes. The street they walked down was also lined with stalls, but generally, they did not have the best, or most unique products, as those were usually sold by the vendors with the pull, money, or savvy, to have a stall in the square itself.

As they walked, Hinata glanced around to see if she could catch the 2 Devas that were sent to shadow them. Sadako Asahina and Kaede Kuriyama, being women themselves, completely understood the need for a ladies day out, and so had volunteered when the Boss had brought up the idea for an escort for his wife's party as they spent the day at the Bazaar. Hinata was disappointed she couldn't pick them out without using her byakugan, but confident they were there, all the same.

Giving up her attempts to spy on their tails, Hinata glanced to her left and inquired, "So, Kurama, why do you do it? Why punish these poor men? Are you trolling for a mate?"

"Men are pigs, my Lady," was the reply, "and they get no less than they deserve!" Turning a bit somber, she continued, "As for a mate, I've already chosen one, but he is already mated to another."

Hinata sensed the sullen tone of Kurama's voice, and understanding dawned in her. "Oh, Kurama, I'm so sorry." she said as she held her fist over her heart.

Kurama saw Hinata's reaction, her eyes widened, and she flung her arms around her to pull her into a crushing hug. "No, no, no… it's not like that! Don't worry about me Hinata." As she drew away from her, she kept her hands on Hinata's cheeks as she said, "I am so happy he chose you as his mate. I love you both, and would die before I let anything harm you. I never, ever want to come between you two, believe me!"

"I know that." Hinata said as she pulled Kurama's hands from her face and kissed each one. "We love you too."

Wiping tears from their eyes, both women took a deep breath before Kurama exclaimed, "And that's why I torture these pigs!" as she spun to leer at the gaping men.

"How romantic!" Koyuki gasped as she clasped her hands in front of her mouth. "Do you think Murasaki would consider this a plot for his next book?"

Hinata spun on her, "Absolutely not Koyuki! This should be treated as a national secret!" she said, scandalized.

Hurt, Koyuki said, "Of course I would be discreet my Lady! The names would be changed!" her mood brightened as she imagined herself playing as the Empress. "But what a story it would be."

All three women were sharing a smile, when a huge man, well over 2 meters tall, and half as wide, stumbled onto the street from a doorway in one of the buildings that lined the road. He had obviously been drinking, as he staggered towards Kurama. His eyes went wide like saucers when he saw her, and he reeled towards her, arm outstretched, mumbling something about "melons from heaven."

As he approached, Kurama took interest in him and when it looked like he was going to get rough, she obliged by grabbing his wrist, extending his arm, and using her hip to toss the man that was twice her size unceremoniously to the ground.

Jostled by the sudden scuffle, Hinata and Koyuki shuffled to the opposite side of the street to watch the spectacle. Hinata however, with her keen senses, lifted her nose in the air as she caught a most exquisite scent… chocolate mixed with cinnamon, two of her favorite flavors. She turned to see an old haggard lady at a small stall which proclaimed to have "The Best Tea in the Empire!" Hinata went to the stall and asked, "Excuse me mam, but where is that chocolate smell coming from?"

The old lady looked up, and her eyes went wide as she saw it was the Empress she talked to, "Oh my Lady!" she exclaimed as she bowed, "You must mean my special blend of tea. Made only from the finest tea leaves from the Wave Country, flavored to perfection with chocolate from the valleys of the Southern provinces and cinnamon from the Land of Mists, it is the very pinnacle of perfection. Would you like some?"

Hinata's eyes went wide as she exclaimed, "Oh, yes please! That sounds delicious!"

The old woman turned and poured some piping hot tea from a pot she had on a burner behind her. She turned back and offered a large steaming mug to Hinata. As she gratefully accepted and brought the cup to her lips, Sadako's hand appeared on Hinata's hand as if she materialized out of nowhere.

"Please my lady, I must check it first." she said.

Mortified, Hinata looked at the old lady, who shook her head and said, "No offense given my Lady. I would expect nothing less."

Reassured, she allowed Sadako to test her drink. Sadako brought the cup to her lips, and swirled a swig around in her mouth before swallowing. Satisfied, she nodded as she handed the cup back to Hinata who took a sip from the cup and nearly swooned. "Oh, this is heavenly!" she praised. "How much do I owe you for this?"

"Oh please my lady, I'm just happy you like it. Consider it a gift."

"Well, I would like a cup too!" Sadako exclaimed, "One with a lid if you please."

The old woman complied, and Hinata paid for the drinks, with a hefty tip included. "My lady is too kind." the old lady said inclining her head.

The noble ladies both bowed as they turned to the entertainment behind them. Kurama was in the process of performing a double kick, both landing precisely on the chin of the last man who had "vowed vengeance" for his large friend's unconscious state. As she flipped backwards to land once again on her feet, Hinata was grateful that Kurama's move was too fast to allow gravity to work its magic on her skirt, because she was fairly certain a riot would have ensued.

She turned her smiling face back to Sadako, but found she had already disappeared.

As they finally made their way down the street and into the bazaar, all eyes were on the three noble ladies. This is why no one noticed when the old lady, a smug grin on her face, turned and walked right into a shadow on the wall, vanishing from sight.

The three imperials walked through the bazaar, oohing and ahhing over this and that. Kurama purchased a pendant that hung down between her breasts, hoping to draw further attention to her chest, and torturing what she believed was the weaker half of the species.

As she walked, Hinata watched the various games people were playing. One game in particular caught her eye. For a small fee, contestants were handed three kunai, and there were various targets you could throw at. Most people trying their hand at it however, were missing badly. The kunai wouldn't fly straight, and none of them were sticking to the targets.

She walked up to the stand and paid to play. She was handed the three kunai by a nervous looking carny. She tested the weight and feel of the blades and something just didn't feel right. "Byakugan!" she said as she scanned the knife.

"Hmmm, no wonder these kunai wobble when thrown…" she thought to herself, "the blade is hollowed out, and the handle is weighted to throw off the balance."

She looked down range at the targets. Some were stationary, and some were moving, one in particular looked like a paddle with a nail driven through its handle and the bulls-eye on the paddle. It was quickly spinning around where the 'nail' would be. She looked at the carny and asked, "Which target would give me the biggest prize?"

"Th-the spinning one in the mi-middle m-my Lady."

Without taking her eyes from the carny, she rapidly extended her arm and flicked her wrist three times. Each time, she released one of the faulty kunai, allowing it to rotate once, using the weighted end of the knife to do the work, and bury the point in the target.

**THOK THOK THOK! **The carny turned his head and looked in disbelief… three perfect strikes, each in the center of the bulls-eye of the spinning target, all without looking.

"Well… looks like three grand prizes for my Lady." he said nervously.

Hinata looked at the toys, and selected a huge, purple, stuffed unicorn for Moka, then she told 2 children that had been trying unsuccessfully when she walked up, to each select a grand prize as well.

"Sadako!" she said to no one in particular.

The Deva appeared instantly at her side. "Yes my Lady?"

"Three kunai please." Hinata requested with her palm out. After she laid the knives in the Empress' hand, Sadako vanished again. "These are the kunai you will use for your game from now on carny..." she said leaking killing intent, "… and if I EVER catch you running an unfair game again, I will skin you alive with your own faulty blades, do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Y-yes mam! Uh, I mean, Empress! I uh, m-my L-lady!" he managed to stammer.

Satisfied her message was received, she released her byakugan and turned to stride away from the stall. Kurama, who had watched the whole exchange, looked over her shoulder at the carny. She growled at him, baring her suddenly sizeable canines, her eyes red with slitted pupils. The carny fell over the counter of his stall, and didn't look over it for a long while. This sent the three women into another fit of giggling as they walked off.

Kurama turned back, "That was fun!"

Hinata paused, swooning slightly. The other two women looked on in concern, but Hinata brushed their concern away with a wave of her hand. "I'm fine," she said, "…it must be the heat."

As they walked off, the three women were oblivious to the peril Hinata was in, but one set of eyes, burning with malice, watched with interest as the Empress and her retinue made their way through the bazaar. Satisfied her plans were proceeding well, she once again turned and faded into the shadows.

Eiichi vowed to never to eat again. He had grown tired of eating, and then sacrificing up a grizzly offering to whatever water-borne gods decided to throw him in this hell of never ending nausea.

He had been at sea for almost a week and he was beginning to realize why no one ever went west. The skies had been overcast for four days now, and they seemed to be darkening, which frightened him a little. Eiichi decided to make his way to the bridge and see if he could enquire as to when the Hell they might be near land.

As he arrived at the bridge, he was somewhat comforted that most of the sea-going men in here looked no better than he did.

"Captain, is this normal?!" Eiichi asked.

The elder man seated in the captain's seat, wearing a weathered trench coat, turned his head, and cast an amused look at Eiichi. "Ha! Tachibana! Perfect! I want to show you what your money bought for you!" He said as he rose from his chair and gestured to the younger Tachibana to join him in the front end of the bridge.

"Look out there." he said pointing out the forward windows, "See that?"

Eiichi looked in the direction he pointed, and was awestruck by what he saw. The horizon for as far as he could see was canopied by clouds that were blacker than any he had ever seen. Waterspouts would form and collapse back into the sea, and winds whipped the seas into whitecaps too numerous to count. The thing that impressed him the most was the lightning. He could see so many flashes of it that it appeared the heavens were held aloft by pillars of wild electricity. The sight was both incredible and terrifying on a primal level. "Magnificent…" he whispered.

He was snapped out of his reverie by the Captain, "Yes, it is…" he said, "… and we're going to get a first-hand look at it."

Realization dawning, Eiichi's eyes bulged as he said, "You can't seriously be considering taking us through that!"

"Ha, ha ha!" was the Captain's response, "Of course I am! Do you see a way around it? Neither do I, and I'm pretty sure that's west, which is where you paid us an awful lot of money to go!"

Eiichi shook his head, "Wait, what… pretty sure? What do you mean PRETTY sure?!"

"Damndest thing I ever seen!" the Captain said as he gestured to a small pillar with a crown of glass standing next to the Captain's chair. "This is the compass, and as you can see, it's useless."

Eiichi looked at the compass, and as he watched, he saw it spinning madly, first clockwise, then counter clockwise, never stopping in one point. "But, but… how?" he managed.

The Captain shrugged his shoulders, "Tachi, I've been on the seas for over 40 years now. You been doin' this that long, and a man just knows what directions are without seeing it. Call it instincts. Batten yourself down in that chair there, and I'll get us through." he said with a wink.

The next hour was a blurred nightmare for Eiichi. The storm was so powerful, the Captain had to yell to be heard as the ship was tossed like a toy in a bathtub. Eiichi could swear he remembered the Captain whooping maniacally as the ship stood almost straight up while traversing a wave, only to slam down bow first after cresting the wave, and rocketing down the other side. Eiichi had thought having a seat belt as a part of a chair on a ship ludicrous. Now he counted his blessings that this one had one, and that he had used it.

"Were almost through it!" the Captain declared as he looked out the port windows. It was for this reason, that he didn't see the freak wave that crashed into his ship from the opposite side. It hit the bridge with enough force, it shattered the windows. The Captain was impaled by multiple shards of glass, one of which slashed his jugular. He bled out on the deck of his bridge, while his men struggled mightily to keep the ship righted. Unfortunately, they didn't have the 40 years of experience the Captain did, nor his "instincts". The ship and crew finally succumbed to the storm, giving themselves up to the merciless sea. At one point, the ship's gyrations were so violent, that the Captain's chair Eiichi was belted to, was wrenched from the deck and both it and Eiichi were tossed unceremoniously against a bulkhead. As he started to lose consciousness, the last thing he saw was the Captain's face, close to his, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, a huge smile on his face, then darkness took the eldest Tachibana.

When Eiichi regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the storm had ceased. He managed to pull himself up to a seated position, despite the protestations of his now throbbing head. The second thing he saw was he was now alone on the bridge, even the Captain's body had been removed. He stood up, and wondered if his wobbly legs would support himself. As he looked around, the scene outside the window was eerie. The ship was now enveloped in a thick fog. He also noticed the usual thrum of the engines, was now eerily silent. He was about to go outside, when two crewmen entered the bridge from the opposite hatch.

"Tachibana!" one of them said, "We thought you were dead! Actually, we were coming up here to dispose of your body." he added a bit sheepishly.

Eiichi managed a smile, "Tales of my demise have been greatly exaggerated thankfully." He looked at the man who had spoken and asked, "You're the first officer, right?"

The man nodded, "Himura, and this is our navigator, Ito."

Eiichi bowed to both men in turn. "May I ask what the status of the ship is?"

Both men shared a dark glance before Himura turned to Eiichi and said, "The ship is currently adrift. We suffered hull breaches in #1 engine room and that compartment is now flooded. #2 engine room suffered partial flooding which we now have under control, but the boiler will not be operational for some time. We have provisions to last another week, but after that, we have to start rationing. I'm sorry."

Eiichi waved both men off as took in the latest information. "Adrift?!" he thought to himself. "I-I need some fresh air." He said to the officers as he stumbled through the hatchway.

"Of course!" both men said as they bowed to the merchant. They still knew where their paychecks for this run were coming from, and were determined not to upset the cash flow. Both men turned to go about the job of repairing their stricken ship.

Eiichi made his way towards the bow of the ship. Ignoring the greetings of any sailors he happened upon, lost in his own thoughts, he at last arrived at the prow of the ship. He rested his arms wearily on the handrail and wondered, "How did it come to this? Was it greed? Pride? My father haunting me?" A vision flashed in his mind of Fusao Tachibana scolding him, "Idiot! You've ruined everything! You are a failure and a disgrace! I now only have one son!"

Eiichi placed his face into his arms, and quietly began weeping. It was for this reason that he didn't initially notice the fog start to dissipate. As it cleared, from the starboard side of their ship, a large shape loomed as it got closer.

Eiichi heard the sound of water lapping against something large. As he raised his head, he was greeted by an ominous sight… it was a ship! But where it was obvious the ship he was on was just a scow, made to transport people and goods from point to point, this ship was bred for war. The main deck was low to the water line, and bristled with weaponry. There were huge caliber bores in front and back, accompanied by what looked like boxes on pedestals on either end as well. The rest of the deck, as well as the superstructure, was peppered with smaller caliber weapons as well. Another thing about the ship was it was huge! Eiichi estimated it was over 250m long and maybe 30-40m high. Painted all in black, it stood in stark contrast to the fogbank that surrounded it, and that seemed to move with it, as the ship slowed to a stop in front of his vessel. The one word that popped into Eiichi's head when he looked at the vessel was 'predator'.

Eiichi could see the other ship lowering smaller boats in the water, presumably to board his ship. He debated as to whether this warship promised salvation or damnation. Looking at the ship one last time before turning back towards the bridge, he feared it would be the latter.

The Queen of Darkness rested her forearms on the hand rail. She was on the balcony of her temple that faced the port. As she relaxed, she watched the preparations for the invasion of the Western Empire continue. Supplies, weapons, vehicles, were all being loaded onto transport ships

"Soon." she thought to herself, "Soon I will have my revenge."

Waiting in the shadows behind his queen, Kyo waited quietly until his presence was acknowledged. To intrude upon her private musings was to invite disaster. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.

"I have set plans in motion Kyo. The die has been cast." she said without turning.

"As you say my Queen," Kyo stepped from the shadows as he continued, "however, we have had an opportunity presented to us I believe we should consider."

"What opportunity?"

"One of our ships intercepted a freighter from the Western Empire." Its crew has been taken to the holding cells. One of the men however is a merchant, a man by the name of Eiichi Tachibana. He's a man desperate to reinstate his family's wealth and power."

"An opportunity indeed," the Queen stated, the wheels already turning as to how to fit this news into her schemes, "desperation can easily be molded to our designs. I should ready a proper greeting for our guest. I have just the thing."

She turned from the balcony railing and started walking towards the interior of the temple.

Kyo lingered for a bit, studying the view of the bustling harbor. Nodding as if reaching a conclusion, Kyo turned and followed his Queen into the temple depths.

Eiichi was scared. He'd been scared in the past, but this was a primal fear, instinctual, the fear felt by prey that was in the jaws of a predator. He was currently in a small 3m by 3m cell, a dingy cot and slop bucket his only companions.

He had implored his captors to release him, that he was only a humble merchant. His pleas had fallen on deaf ears however. Now as he sat on the floor of his cell, he started to hear the voice of his father. "Eiichi… you are worthless! If your mother could see you now, she would be ashamed of you, as I am…"

Eiichi sat huddled in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chin. As he cupped his hands over his ears, and started gently rocking back and forth, he muttered, "Shut up, shut up, shut up…"

He was released from his torture by the sound of a key being turned in the tumblers in the lock on his door. When the door was opened, an imposing figure, dressed in armor, filled the doorway. "Come on." was all he said.

Eiichi lurched to his feet, and blinking at the sudden light from the hallway, he staggered out of his cell, and followed the imposing figure down the hall.

The Queen stood with Kyo in a large circular room as she looked on with interest at the preparations for their latest test. In the center of the room was a circular pit roughly 10m in diameter and a little over 2m deep with two large poles coming up from the floor. Soldiers were currently bringing in two crewmen from the ship they encountered. By the cut of their uniforms, it was obvious they were officers. They looked to the floor in revulsion as they were led in, as it was covered in some unfamiliar black fluid. It didn't splash as they walked through it, but seemed to suck hungrily at their boots. It writhed as if there were snakes swimming in it and a thin black smoke wafted from the surface. They both looked tired and scared as they were each in turn chained to separate poles with their manacled hands attached to a turnbuckle above their heads.

She turned to her advisor and said, "I am curious about this new spell and how well it works."

Kyo nodded as he turned his attention to the doorway where a guard led the poor merchant into the room. Eiichi was dumbstruck and stumbled as he took in the scene in the pit.

"Ah, Tachibana-san, so glad you could join us." Kyo greeted him.

"Eiichi started to muster his courage, "Wha-What is the meaning of this!?" he asked while gesturing towards the pit and the two prisoners secured to the poles, "I demand to speak to someone in charge! We are on a peaceful mercantile mission and do not deserve this treatment!"

"I don't wish to discuss the tedious maritime laws governing your 'invasion' of our sovereign waters," Kyo continued as Eiichi turned apoplectic, "but I can grant your audience with our leader. May I present the Queen of Yami No Toshi." he said turning to the hooded Queen standing next to him.

Eiichi bowed deeply, "My apologies your grace, we meant no offense, and seek nothing more than trade opportunities between our 2 nations. I promise you, we are no threat-…"

The Queen cut him off with a gesture of her hand, "Firstly, you are here uninvited. We value our privacy. Second, **I** will determine what is a threat to our nation, not you. Third, you will not speak unless I ask you a question is that clear?"

Eiichi stammered an answer with his head still bowed, "Y-Yes your highness." He was curious though, the hood she wore made it impossible to distinguish facial features, but he was sure he had heard her voice before.

She turned to the prisoners, "Do you recognize the two men in the pit?" When Eiichi nodded, she continued, "Who are they?"

Eiichi peered at the two men, "The one on the left is our first officer, Himura, and the other is the navigator, Ito."

The Queen turned her head back to Eiichi, "Which man do you value more?"

Involuntarily, Eiichi fell into old habits acquired from years of appraising merchandise, he surveyed the two men, weighing their worth to his mission. Himura, he knew was a leader of men, responsible for maintaining discipline and morale on the ship, but Ito was responsible for charting a course home. Eiichi then remembered when the Captain had shown him the compass and its gyrations prior to entering the storm. "Ito might be useless under conditions like that, but that is when the crew would need morale the most." Eiichi reasoned to himself.

His mind made up, the merchant looked to the two men, and said, "In my opinion, Himura, would be more valuable to me, I'm sorry Ito."

Himura's relief was contrasted by Ito's outrage, as a large armored man came up to Himura's pole and with one swing of his sword, broke the chains that bound the prisoner, and allowed him to sag to his knees in thankfulness.

As the first officer struggled to his feet, Ito was screaming curses at Eiichi, "You motherless, greedy bastard Eiichi! Look me as they kill me! LOOK AT ME!"

Eiichi raised his eyes as Ito's mouth went shut with an audible snap, as the soldier that had freed Himura, waited until the officer regained his feet, and then casually drew his sword across the man's neck, slitting his throat from ear to ear.

Himura's gurgled disbelief was drowned out by Eiichi's tortured screams, "Himura, NO! What the fuck is wrong with you people!? I thought you released him!?"

As Himura tried, and failed to stem the flow of his life's blood from his severed neck, he sank to his knees, and pitched forward to land face first in the black morass covering the floor. There was no splash, just a slight movement of the smoke-like effects coming from the strange liquid as he tumbled.

The Queen turned to Eiichi, a sneer heard in her voice, as she said, "My dear Eiichi, I never asked you whom you wanted to SAVE, I merely asked you who was more important to you, and I gave him a clean and painless death."

Eiichi's response died on his lips, his face turned to the Queen's when he heard a moan and a liquid scrape sound coming from the pit. He slowly turned his head toward the doomed navigator.

Ito was paralyzed with his fear, his mouth open in a silent scream, his wide eyes fixed on the body of Himura. That body twitched once, twice, then slowly started to draw itself up off the ground. Any hope Eiichi had for the first officer's resurrection died when he saw Himura's eyes. There were no longer any whites or pupils, they were completely black, and eerily reminded Eiichi of polished obsidian.

Ito found his voice, as the animated corpse of Himura shambled towards him, and he started screaming as if his life depended on it.

The Queen turned and gestured to a serving girl who shuffled towards her. "I want to show you something merchant."

"What is this madness!?" Eiichi yelled as he spun on the Queen, "You murder my crew mates, and you just expect me to-…"

Eiichi's protests were silenced when he saw the round tray the serving girl brought over. Upon this tray was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, a statue, roughly 45cm tall, of a man and a woman intertwined, and reaching toward the sky. It was made of a metal that shone like silver, but had almost a translucent quality to it, like he could see deep into it.

Eiichi's eyes reflected the metallic sheen of the statue, as he held his hands out to it. "May I… touch it?" he whispered. Ito's screams were now being joined by the sounds of ripping flesh.

"Of course Tachibana-san," the Queen purred, "I want you to be our partner. I want you to sell hundreds of these statues to the citizens of your capital from your store."

"May I keep one for myself mistress?" Eiichi asked reverently.

"Of course Eiichi," she purred in Eiichi's ear, "we are going to make you rich."

"Rich…" Eiichi whispered, the voice of his father banished.

"Allow one of my servants to escort you to your quarters while we make preparations to send you home, hmm?" the Queen nodded to a servant who came forward to gently lead Eiichi away.

Ito's screams had faded to quiet sobs punctuated by ripping noises as the corpse of Himura slowly tore him to shreds, but as the merchant was led away, all thoughts of his stricken crew mates were swallowed by the dreams of the future and emotions sparked by this wondrous statue he held.

The Queen and Kyo watched the two leave with disinterest, the moment interrupted by Kyo as he asked, "Why the ridiculous looking statue? Couldn't there have been something else you could have used?"

She glanced at the spectacle in the pit as she responded, "I found that if I molded the star metal into an aesthetically pleasing shape, that the glamour spell I cast on it, would have a positive effect on the subject, so yes, I had to use that ridiculous, lovey-dovey pose, to evoke the most positive response in whomever sees it. You saw his response. We put him through a most traumatic scenario, then in the blink of an eye, he forgot about it when he saw the statue. The spell works so well, people would kill someone for the statue if I asked, but for now, I just want them to buy it, and spread them throughout Kimon."

Kyo had a growing appreciation for the deviousness of his Queen. "Maybe the Gods were right." he mused.

He was roused from his reverie by the Queen, "I must make my appearance soon!" she said, "I'm going to oversee the preparations personally."

As she turned and walked briskly from the room, Kyo looked one more time at the bloody mess in the pit. "Interesting times indeed." he mused.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Gathering Storm

The pinnacle of the Unification Festival, was the Kumite Tournament held in the city of South Ichiyama. This tournament brought the best fighters from around the continent to compete to see who the strongest was.

It was also Naruto's favorite time of year. "Kumite! Kumite!" Naruto and Minato were chanting in the garden. Naruto and his son were wrestling while they chanted.

Hinata listened to her boys while she was in the next room. She was currently braiding Moka's hair in preparation for today's appearance by the Empire's first family at the Kumite Finals. As if on cue, the Empire's first advisor, Ay, flanked by Rasu, came strolling into the room to discuss that very thing.

"Good evening my Empress," Ay said formally as he and Rasu bowed, "we have come to help with any preparations for today's final match."

Hinata had to stifle a giggle as she looked at Ay, "Why in the world are you talking like that?" she managed.

Ay screwed his face up as he replied, "I was told I needed to be more formal with you and especially the children." Ay sent a sidelong glance towards Rasu as he spoke, to which he replied with a completely innocent face of his own.

Hinata laughed out loud this time.

"What in the world ever gave you that impression!? Ay, we understand you are gruff, rude, and violent to a fault. We all accept that and love you despite it. So, please, stop acting like a clown."

Instead of getting angry, Ay actually looked relieved. "Thank you. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that."

"There is something you can do for me though. Please settle those boys down, and remind my husband we only have a couple of hours before the Kumite Championship match." Hinata said as she nodded towards the garden.

"Absolutely!" Ay said as he bowed and turned to march off to the garden.

As he turned the corner and left their sight, Moka turned to her mother and said, "5 minutes Mommy."

"That's what I love about you my dear, you are so generous." Hinata said as she glanced at Rasu.

Rasu, who hadn't said a word, wore a mischievous grin as he bowed, and turned to walk deeper into the palace.

Just as Hinata finished braiding Moka's hair, a roar, more of a primal challenge, presumably from Ay, came from the garden. The Empress looked at her watch and stated, "Two and a half minutes."

Both ladies smiled until the unmistakable sound of pottery getting shattered emanated from the garden. The smile vanished from Hinata's face as she got up.

"Stay here Moka." she stated without turning as she stalked towards the garden.

Turning the corner, the sight that greeted her would have been comical if she wasn't so pissed. Before her stood Ay, wreathed in his lightning armor, with his hands locked with Naruto's, and flanked by two of Naruto's shadow clones, each with a rasengan in their hands. Each clone had his rinnegan activated as well, which would have been unusual, except Minato was on his father's shoulders, with his arms wrapped around Naruto's face, covering his eyes.

When she walked in, everyone, including the real Naruto, looked down to a flowering pot, that had been full of Hinata's prized purple tulips that she had been planning on breeding, but was now smashed on the floor.

The shadow clones saw Hinata's mood, and with muttered apologies, they both released their rasengans and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Ay released his hand clasp with Naruto, as well as his lightning shield, and stood sheepishly by while Minato released his father and climbed down, to stand next to Ay.

"Look Hime, it's not what it looks like…" Naruto said trying to placate his wife.

"Oh? It looks to me like a bunch of idiots ruined my prized tulips by horsing around!"

"O-Ok, maybe it does look like what it is," Naruto stammered, "let me show you something before you get too mad."

Naruto walked towards Hinata with his hand out. "Watch the kids." he threw over his shoulder to Ay before casting his gaze once more to Hinata.

"I'm not interested in anything you have…"

Naruto clasped his wife's hand.

-**FLASH**-

"…to show me!"

They were no longer at the palace. The rest of Hinata's tirade died on her lips as she beheld the vista before her. She was looking down on a vast, open-air, garden, carved into what looked like the side of a mountain. It was oval in shape, maybe 100m long by at least 60m wide. The walls surrounding the garden stood 10-15m high and were made of stone that looked like they were part of the mountain itself. They were standing on what looked like the East end of the depression, some 10m off the ground, and the view was spectacular. Hinata could see trees of all types, more flower species than she could count, and what looked like a waterfall at the far end that fed a large pond in the middle of the garden. A number of pagodas dotted the landscape, at what she assumed were points of interest, or particular beauty.

After she caught her breath, Hinata looked around at her immediate surroundings. She saw they were on a stone platform that looked like it flowed from the wall of the garden. The southern wall of the platform was only a meter high, so it formed a balcony that she now looked out on the panorama from. She was looking down from high on the mountain at the surrounding countryside, the Capital city in distance with the Palace the highest building glinting in the morning sun.

"What do you think?" Naruto said, still clutching her hand, "I had the best Earth Jutsu users up here to make the bowl, then I used Water users for routing the water in, then…"

Hinata placed her finger on Naruto's lips, "Shhhhh. It's beautiful love, and yes, I forgive you." She said smiling. "Let's go look around, shall we?"

They walked down a set of granite stairs to the garden floor and started exploring. Naruto loved the way she laughed and oohed and ahhed as she walked around holding his hand.

When they came to the large pond, Hinata could see it was stocked with a variety of fresh water fish. Beyond the pond, she saw a field of purple tulips, just like the ones she was going to breed. As she ran over there, she almost dragged Naruto, who was a little slow, as she launched herself around the pond.

As they stood at the edge of the tulip field, Hinata turned to gaze at Naruto. "I love you..." she breathed as she raised her lips to his.

"I love you too…" he managed before their lips met. Naruto noted that her eyes were a deeper shade of lavender than usual. "I know what that means…" he thought to himself.

She pulled him down to the grass, and started to undress him.

An hour later, both of them exhausted from their passionate love-making, Naruto laid on his back, using his clothes as a pillow, staring at the clouds, with Hinata's naked form nestled against his side.

Naruto looked at his watch and sighed. "I hate to break this up Hime, but we have a little over an hour to get to the match."

She nuzzled his neck, and said, "Do we have to?"

Naruto chuckled. "Yes dear. If we didn't, it would belittle the match and what it stands for. We have to make an appearance."

She sighed, "I suppose…" Her eyes snapped open, "Wait, how did you get us here?"

Naruto, a sly smile spreading across his lips, "What do you mean?"

"When we came here, I didn't notice at first, but there were no marks for the landing, no symbols, kunai, anything. How did you do it?"

Naruto sat up and explained, "I have refined my jutsu," his smile growing wider, "I can now transport to a place I have studied and know well enough up here…" he said tapping the side of his head, "isn't that the greatest?! I had this place specifically made so that was the only way to get here, unless someone learns how to fly, "he snorted as that thought made him laugh, "so this is our personal place, just you and me."

Hinata looked at his face, with its lopsided grin, and remembered back when Naruto was known as the "knuckle-headed ninja". That seemed like a million years ago now.

Both stood up and started getting their clothes back on. As they did, Naruto saw a dark discoloration on Hinata's lower back. "I don't remember things getting that rough." Naruto thought to himself. "Hime… where'd you get the bruise on your back?" he asked while touching the spot.

Hinata craned her neck around trying to see, "I don't know. It doesn't hurt, probably while we were rolling around on the ground." Her huge smile convinced him it was no big deal. They both continued to get dressed.

If Naruto had looked closer at the spot, he might have noticed the spiderweb of faint lines that radiated outward from "the bruise."

The day of the championship match was as much a finale to the month of celebration as it was a match to determine the best fighter in the land. People came from all over the Empire, as well as the Eastern Realms to participate in the festivities.

The large crater that served as the arena for the Kumite, held a lot of nostalgia for Naruto and Hinata. This is where the final battle to unify the Western Empire was fought, and it was also where Naruto and Hinata were married, in the heat of said battle.

The Emperor and Empress always enjoyed coming back to this place. Today they were joined in the Emperor's box by their children Minato and Moka. There were members from other nations as well. Gaara of course made the trip, flanked by Kankuro and Temari. Members of the Spring Daiymo were here with Koyuki Kazahana sitting with them. Also in the box were Kurama, Ay, all four devas, as well as all the advisors including Hinata's father, Hiashi, who turned to his daughter and son in law, and asked, "How is it that Shikamaru made it all the way to the final match? I never envisioned him taking shadow jutsu to such extremes."

"It's amazing sometimes what that slacker can do when he's properly motivated!" Temari interjected a smug look across her face.

Naruto gave her a sidelong glance as he said, "You would be surprised father," he never got used to calling him that, but it pleased Hinata, "but Shikamaru has been working a lot on his jutsu, taking it in directions never thought of before. I've sparred with him a couple of times, and it is impressive. Who I'm really going to be watching though is his competition today. That stranger, no one seems to know where he's from. What's his name?"

Zabuza leaned forward and offered, "Hirohito is all we've been able to learn. We have no idea where he's from, he doesn't contact anyone we're aware of, so there's no one to tail. He's an enigma. I don't like enigmas."

Naruto turned and looked at his friend Gaara who shrugged and said, "We have never seen him either Naruto. His looks, his armor, his techniques, are as much a mystery to us as they are to you. Sorry."

"I'm interested in him as well," chimed Sonshi, Naruto's teacher in the way of the samurai and the first counselor Naruto hired, "the abilities he uses, seem like jutsu, but he weaves no seals I've seen and speaks words I don't recognize."

Naruto turned to Sadako, who looked a little bit more pale than usual, "Sadako, he defeated you in the tournament, didn't he? What's your assessment?"

Sadako turned to Naruto, "My Lord, he doesn't use jutsu, not any I recognized at least. It seemed like he commanded all of the elemental natures of chakra, but I never saw him weave seals. He used hand gestures and words of power, but they were unlike anything I'd faced before."

Horns blared announcing the introduction of the final match. "Hmmmm. We'll have to keep an eye on him." Naruto said. Nods were exchanged as all eyes in the booth were turned to the floor of the arena. The arena itself was designed so that it didn't give an overt advantage to any style user. It was huge, with a floor of dirt and sand mixed together. There were trees spotted around, and a large pond towards the middle for water users.

The announcer in the center used his chakra to amplify his voice, "The final match of this year's Kumite features new comer, Hirohito!" As the announcer pointed to his left, a large man, with dark tan skin walked out. He was an imposing figure, well over 2m tall, dressed head to toe in armor. Black leather armor adorned his extremities with steel plates covering vital areas such as chest, back and groin. His head was topped by a conical helmet that covered his ears, nose and the back of his neck and came to a point on top. The armor was completed by what looked like a horsehair plume that ran from the point of his helmet to the small of his back. For weapons, he hid various knives around his person, but his main weapons were the wicked looking, twin curved swords he wore cross-draw style across his back. There was some polite clapping, and sporadic cheering, but the arena's audience was fairly quiet as the stranger made his entrance.

The announcer turned to his right, "Making his first appearance in the Kumite championship, Shikamaru Nara!" The crowd erupted in to cheering at this point, as Shikamaru strolled out onto the field. He was dressed in standard Imperial shinobi armor, red with black trim this time. Of course he had his hands in his pockets, in his typical "slacker" fashion. He wasn't fooling Naruto however, he had watched as he had grown and matured in his time with the Empire. He still liked to play the slacker, but when it came down to protecting the Empire, and her needs, Shikamaru was more than ready and willing.

The combatants came to within a handful of meters from each other and stopped. The announcer/referee said, "Fighters! This is the championship match! The winner will be crowned as the best fighter in all the realms! There is only one rule, while the use of potentially lethal jutsu is authorized, the intent to kill is not allowed. This is NOT a fight to the death! Do you understand?"

Hirohito nodded solemnly as he kept his eyes on Shikamaru. The slacker nodded as well, "Understood."

"Then return to your starting places!"

Shikamaru turned to Hirohito, placed his fists together, and bowed in a warrior's salute. The stranger did not return the gesture as he slowly backed away, never taking his eyes from Shikamaru.

"Hmmpf!" he said as he rose, put his hands back in his pockets, and turned to stroll back to his starting place. His greatest ability, beyond any jutsu he performed, was that he was a gifted strategist. As he walked back, his mind was already working out his strategies for the upcoming battle.

"His armor doesn't appear to hinder his movements, but the steel plates do look heavy enough to take a toll on his endurance if this match drags on. However, I've watched one of his other matches, and through his use of elemental powers, and brute strength, it ended quickly. So my strategy should be to keep him at a distance, and allow my shields to absorb his ranged attacks, hoping he tires and provides an opening."

"Fighters ready?!"

Hirohito drew his twin swords, crouched into a fighting stance, and crossed his swords in front of him.

Shikamaru took a knee and made a hand sign, "Clone Shadow!" The shadow he cast elongated to a meter in front of him, being careful not to cross the start line and be disqualified, and then rose to a height of 2 meters. It then took on a vaguely human form that held what looked like twin swords of its own. Shikamaru had already learned how to manipulate objects with his shadow technique, but he had further evolved the jutsu to where he could now manipulate the air covered by portions of his shadows to obtain a diamond-like hardness. The manifestation he preferred was the twin swords, which were the only hardened parts of the shadow. The concentration required to perform this jutsu was incredible, and only a mind structured as Shikamaru's could handle it.

"FIGHT!"

Hirohito immediately sprinted to his right. He moved so quickly, he left a trail of dust in the air behind him.

Shikamaru was slightly surprised by the big man's speed. He had seen him move like this in his previous match of course, but he hadn't had the chance to see it up this close. He was ready though, so he calmly, but quickly moved his clone to intercept the foreigner.

The clone and warrior clashed sword against "sword". Hirohito was the better swordsman, so when he spun around with a vicious slash that would have disemboweled a normal person, he flawlessly executed the move, and grunted when his sword passed harmlessly through the "belly" of the clone.

Shikamaru, unlike a true swordsman, didn't have to worry about leaving an opening on his clone. In fact, he relished the moment, as he used them to capitalize on openings created while his opponent attacked. He did this now to slash at Hirohito's face. The experienced warrior sensing his dilemma after his failed attack, had enough sense to move his head back, so Shikamaru's blade only drew a thin red line along his scalp and bounced off his helmet.

The main disadvantage of this method of shadow manipulation was that he couldn't simultaneously maintain his "shadow sharpness" and use other styles of shadow jutsu, such as shadow stitching or shadow possession. His focus had to be as sharp as the shadows he used to parry Hirohito's swords. When the time was right though, he was confident he could shift to the other forms of jutsu.

Hirohito had learned to play a game of cat and mouse with the shadow, parrying the clone's shadow swords as he studied Shikamaru. He knew he didn't need to land a blow on the shadow to disrupt it, that lesson had been learned with a new scar on his forehead. No, he needed to take out the shadow-caster, the clone was just an annoyance.

Hirohito slammed his sword blades together, shouted a word of power, and slashed them to either side. When they parted, a ball of fire, 10cm in diameter, was flung from them, and sped through the clone's midsection, and directly towards Shikamaru.

His eyes widened as the ball flew at his face. He had seen him manipulate flames before, but not using his blades. Shikamaru dived to his right, and threw up his left hand, at the end of which formed a large conical shield made of shadow. He managed to harden it just as the fireball exploded where he had previously kneeled. The concussive hammer blow that followed still staggered him however.

Anyone else would have lost the match in the next few seconds, but this was Shikamaru, and he had thought this out far in advance already. As soon as he left the ground, he knew he had lost contact with the ground, and therefore the shadow sustaining his clone. When the pressure eased on his shadow shield, he immediately formed a seal, and the ground around him erupted with a dozen shadow tentacles that sprang forth, towards a spot in the smoke and dust, where he figured the next attack would come from. Sure enough, Hirohito came flying through the haze, swords extended above his head for a double handed overhead slash. He was greeted by over a dozen shadow spears coming straight at him.

His eyes widened slightly, but he was a consummate warrior, and the best Yami No Toshi had to offer. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he dodged to his left and back flipped. He made his way to the trees, and dashed from limb to limb as the shadows chased him. When he ran out of trees, he dropped down to the ground. As he landed on his left foot, he intoned a word of power, and started spinning rapidly. When the shadows closed in, they were greeted by a cyclone of wind and dust surrounding the warrior.

Stymied by his inability to see the warrior, Shikamaru released his shadow stitching, and reformed his clone shadow. This time however he did not harden the "blades", but instead, awaited the warrior's next move.

He didn't have to wait long however.

Hirohito lunged out of the man-made tornado, and landed on his feet roughly 4m from Shikamaru's shadow warrior. Hirohito had enough time to drop his swords, and with a sly grin, drew 2 kunai, and threw them each to either side of himself by extending his arms. It was in this pose, with his arms outstretched that Shikamaru's shadow stitching struck him, one in each shoulder.

The "Slacker" had purposely not hardened the swords so he could instead extend the arms into shadow tentacles using his shadow stitching jutsu. Now that he had pinned Hirohito with his shadow jutsu, he knew the match was all but over. His heart swelled with pride. "Shadow capture compl- …"

Shikamaru sensed the kunai heading at him from either direction, and heard the flutter of the paper bombs attached to them. Maintaining his composure, he threw himself forward, maintaining his connection to his shadow, and also instinctively threw up a shadow shield above himself. The thundering report of two paper bombs going off above his head deafened him, and he had to close his eyes against the pressure.

When the bombs went off, Naruto never took his eyes off Hirohito. He saw what happened to the kunai he had thrown, they flew off in seemingly random directions, aimed at trees. Instead of hitting the trees however, they were, "absorbed" was the best word he could find, by the shadows on each tree.

When they emerged from the shadows on the trees to either side of Shikamaru, he knew his friend was in trouble.

Naruto turned his eyes back to Hirohito. This is how he saw him break free from Shikamaru's shadow, retrieve one of his swords, and cast his hand over it. After he did that, his sword had a black sheen to it, and what looked like dark smoke wafted from it.

After the paper bombs thundered at Shikamaru, Hirohito launched himself at the clone shadow Shikamaru had worked so hard to maintain his connection to.

Sensing something bad was about to happen, Naruto stood up, and placed his hand on the hilt of the O-katana he had strapped to his back.

"He coated his sword…" Naruto started.

"… with poison." Hinata finished. She had been watching the match with her byakugan activated. She also stood up as she sensed a change in the match as well.

Shikamaru, dazed, opened his eyes after what seemed like an eternity, and looked up in time to see Hirohito meet his clone on the field. Hirohito clasped his blade with both hands as he readied a strike at the shadow.

Shikamaru was just about to reform his stitching jutsu when the foreign warrior simply disappeared into the shadow that he had worked so hard to maintain. It looked like, for all the world to Shikamaru, that Hirohito had simply charged "inside" of his clone.

The imperial shinobi sensed his impending doom, and knew there was nothing he could do about it. The instant Hirohito vanished into the clone, he reappeared, exiting from the shadow of the trunk of the tree directly behind the kneeling ninja, his sword still in a two handed grip, and aimed for the back of Shikamaru's neck.

The ring of steel behind his head seemed like music to his ears as Hirohito's sword met Imperial steel. Naruto, using shunshin, had appeared to catch the deadly blow on the blade of his drawn O-katana. He didn't have long to contemplate this, as Hinata also used shunshin to bowl Shikamaru out of the path of the black blade.

Even though his attack was blocked, Hirohito still maintained his grip on his sword, and strained against the Emperor's blade as they were locked together now.

Shikamaru looked back at the scene, realized how close he had come to death, and said, "I yield."

When the stranger did not back off, Naruto said, "I'm gonna give you two choices, either you take Shikamaru's yield, and I'll crown you Champion of the Tournament, or the might of the Empire will crush you here and now, your choice."

Hirohito's eyes narrowed as if he was contemplating a third option, but then he relaxed. "I'm sorry," he said, apologetically, "sometimes, at the height of combat, I lose myself in the ways of the warrior. It is a testament to how far you pushed me in our match." he said looking at Shikamaru.

Naruto sheathed his weapon, and as he did, he watched Hirohito with his sword. The warrior moved his hand along the blade, and it reverted to plain naked steel.

"What did you put on your blade Hirohito?" Naruto asked as the stranger sheathed his blade.

"I put nothing on the blade that wasn't there already." was his cryptic response.

As he attempted to brush by Naruto to retrieve his other sword, the Emperor grabbed his arm. "We have rules." is all Naruto said.

"Which I followed…. mostly." Hirohito lowered his eyes down to Naruto's hand, then calmly returned them to gaze at Naruto's eyes. "Did I win your tournament, or not?"

"You did."

"Then I will see you at the ceremony." Hirohito continued on his way after Naruto released his arm.

Looking at his receding back, Naruto commented, "I don't like him at all."

"I agree." was the response from both Shikamaru and his wife.

Naruto looked at his wife as if noticing her for the first time, "Oh yeah, how did you get down here so quick?"

"I used shunshin to move Shikamaru out of the way of the attack. I have been working on the technique for awhile now. It uses a lot of my chakra still. I wanted to perfect it and then surprise you." she said nervously. Clapping her hands together quietly, she whispered, "Surprise?"

"Let me see if I have this right," Naruto said, crossing his arms, "you secretly learned a technique of mine, and before you've perfected it, you use it to place yourself between Shikamaru and a sword covered in black flames or something. Does that about cover it?"

Hinata rolled her eyes skyward thoughtfully, and when she snapped them down to Naruto's again, she simply nodded and said, "Yep!"

Naruto's brows were almost knitted together, but then he released the tension by bursting into a huge smile and enfolding Hinata in a bear hug.

"That's my girl! I'm so proud of you! I couldn't have picked a better woman to be my wife!"

Shaking his head, Shikamaru started for the exit on his side of the arena. He glanced back to Hirohito who had sheathed his other sword, and was making his way towards his own exit.

"There's your champion." Shikamaru said to the announcer as he pointed at the foreigner's back.

As if snapping out of a trance, the announcer shook his head and looked at Hirohito.

"There he is, your winner and new champion of the Kumite, Hirohito!"

The applause was polite, but underwhelming, as Hirohito made his way out of the arena. He didn't wave or look at the crowd, or acknowledge there cheering at all…he just didn't seem to care as he trudged towards the exit.

The ceremony for crowning the tournament's champion was held at the palace, in the main reception hall. As they entered the hall, today they were the Emperor and the Emperor's Consort, for this was a formal affair. They were both dressed in their finest armor, black with gold trim. Behind them came Minato and Moka, both dressed in formal clothes as well, as they understood the importance of appearance at a function in the palace. Naruto sat in his throne, with Hinata seated in hers on his left, and the children kneeling to her left, and slightly back from the front of her throne.

Naruto noticed Hinata wincing and squirming on her throne. "What's wrong Hinata?" he whispered, concern creeping into his voice.

Hinata looked at him and said, "My back is in some pain tonight is all. I must have overdone it today. My exhaustion isn't helping either. I've expended a lot of chakra lately, and I haven't had the time to properly recover.

"My prescription for you my dear is rest and relaxation for at least a week, starting immediately after this!"

This drew a smile from Hinata which convinced Naruto that the problem was solved, so he returned his attention to the festivities.

The reception hall in the palace was not huge, or so Naruto thought, but as he looked around, he saw it was filled to capacity. The walls of the hall were adorned with the Empire's trophies. All manner of weapons, as well as banners from various defeated warlords and tribes decorated the walls. His most prized trophies however were _Sasuke's Chokuto and Orochimaru's Kusanagi_. These he reserved a special place for, each flanking his throne.

All his advisors were here, including Kurama and Ay, and all the houses of the Empire were represented here as well. Even Gaara and his entourage stayed for the ceremony. Naruto had an idea why as he glanced to where the clans lined up. Shikamaru looked well, after surviving two explosions in close proximity, and he stood proudly with the other members of the Nara clan, his left arm encircled by Temari.

A band at the far end of the hall started playing "The Empire Marches On", an old but well known marching song, to announce the beginning of the ceremony.

At a nod from Naruto, the doors at that end were opened, and in strode Hirohito, resplendent in his freshly oiled and polished armor. He was flanked by two of the Devas, Kintaro, the man-mountain, on his right, and Rasu, the Shogun of the Violet Lightning on his left. Conspicuous in their absence were the other two Devas, Kaede and Sadako. Naruto made a mental note to find out their whereabouts later.

As they reached a predetermined distance from the throne of 30m, both Devas stopped and faced the crowd on their respective sides. They marched towards the line of people, and when they reached it, each did an about face and stood at attention. Coincidentally the band reached the last notes of their song, and the music died down.

Naruto rose to address the crowd, "Friends, neighbors, citizens of the Empire, each year, to celebrate the birth of our Empire, we hold a tournament to determine the best fighter in the land! All are welcome to the contest of course, and it's been our greatest pride that every year, the winner was one of our own. This year, a stranger entered our tournament, and through great strength and courage, managed to defeat the best we had to offer. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you your tournament champion, Hirohito!"

The hall erupted in clapping, because all members of the Empire respected strength, and showed their appreciation for its display.

Naruto turned to an aide who brought the trophy to him, it was a beautiful katana dressed in the empire's colors of red and black. There were also trimmings of solid gold along the scabbard that were said to be worth a king's ransom.

Hirohito knelt as the Emperor approached. Naruto knelt before the man and extended his arms with the sword in his hands. Hirohito grasped the sword and held on to it as Naruto said, "A great man once told me of a quote he cherished. 'The things I once imagined would be my greatest achievements were only the first steps toward a future I can only begin to fathom.' Take this trophy, but remember, these are only the first steps on your journey."

Hirohito bowed his head as Naruto spoke, and raised it again when he finished. "I'm honored Emperor." was all he said.

Naruto rose and backed away a couple of steps. At a loss for what else to say, he proclaimed, "Congratulations… Champion!" He then led the hall in clapping to acknowledge Hirohito.

As the applause thundered on, Naruto turned and returned to his throne. When the noise had died down again, he looked at Hirohito and asked, "If there's anything you'd like to say champion, now's the time!"

Hirohito looked at the Emperor and said, "I appreciate your gift, but as it turns out, I have a gift for you as well." He reached into his armor and pulled out what looked like an oblong piece of solid silver, no more than 8cm from end to end.

Intrigued, Naruto leaned forward in his seat to get a better look. Hirohito took the metal and whispered to it before rolling it forward, away from him. The metal wobbled a little as it rolled, then came to a stop little more than 5m away from Naruto.

It began to spin rapidly as it sat there, then it flipped on end, and remained motionless humming softly. You could hear a pin drop in the hall as all eyes were on the queer silver present.

As they watched, the metal quickly became liquid as it appeared to melt rapidly. The metal however, as it spread, formed a perfect circle. When it was done, an oval portal of purple energy flared up from it to stand a little over 2m tall, and a meter wide at its widest point, but it was paper thin.

A robed and hooded woman stepped through the portal holding a staff in her right hand topped by a glowing blue crystal. As soon as both feet were on the ground, the portal disappeared, and she slammed the butt of her staff on the floor and proclaimed, "Aski Al Tiempo!"

A bright blue flash of energy spread faster than a man could blink in a sphere from her staff. It encompassed the throne area and the greater part of the audience's area before it faded.

When the flash was gone, the mystery guest glanced around the room to view her handiwork. Everything, and everyone in the area that had been affected by the light, were now suspended, as if time had stopped in that bubble. Various members of the clans were starting to make hand signs, their mouths opened as they channeled their will, now all frozen. Even Gaara had his sand starting to come out of the gourd he always wore on his back, eyes focused on where the portal had been.

She glanced back at Hirohito frozen on his knees. He had volunteered for this mission, and for his part, he had performed flawlessly. For this reason, she didn't particularly wish for his death to be any more painful.

Then she turned to the Emperor and his family. Transferring her staff to her left hand, she strode up to the children first. "Oooooh, so precious," she purred, "wouldn't want anything to happen to you, would we?"

As she stood over Minato, she took her index finger on her right hand and started to draw on his forehead. She whispered words of power as she did, the nail on her finger tracing a symbol with lines that glowed orange in the shape of a circle surrounding a star. When she finished, the lines faded to obscurity and were invisible to the untrained eye.

She performed the same ritual on Moka before she turned her attention to Hinata. She sat frozen in her throne, her back stiff, her byakugan activated. The woman stood in front of her and tsk'ed.

"You're going to pay for that in the morning princess." she whispered in her ear as she traced the lines and veins in Hinata's face.

At last she made her way to stand in front of Naruto. He had actually made it part way off his throne and his eyes were filled with the concentric circles of the Rinnegan. His mouth was open, probably shouting some command or other she figured.

The robed figure whispered words of power and blew air into Naruto's mouth. After a few seconds, Naruto blinked his eyes and he could slowly move his lips, but didn't move otherwise.

The woman put her hooded face in front of the Emperor's eyes, and when she was sure he was focused on her, she said, "Don't try to struggle. You're under my power. I've released you from the spell that even now freezes everything else around us, but you're still mine. I wanted to show you something, and I needed you conscious for it."

Naruto tried mightily to move his lips so he could speak, but all that came out was a gasp.

"A bit like a fish out of water, eh," she cooed, "don't worry, I'm not going to kill you yet. You haven't suffered enough."

She raised her hands to her cowl and grasped both sides of it. As she pulled it back, she said, "You see dobe, there's a storm gathering, and it's going to wash you , and everything you hold dear out to sea, to be lost forever. I just wanted you to know who it was, who had done this to you."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. Her face was disfigured on her left side from some horrible burn she suffered. Her wrinkled and blistered skin ran from her chin, up the side of her face, to halfway across the top of her head. Hair stood out in patches on the left side of her head, but was more pronounced and filled in on her right.

Even though her hair had lost some of the pinkness it had when they were younger, there was no doubting her eyes. He just couldn't believe he now stared at his reflection in the same green eyes he had fallen in love with when he was still a member of Team 7.

He stared into the eyes of Sakura Haruno.

Author's Note: Wow, writing a story around a full time job can be tough. When I finished this chapter, I kind of balked at how big it was, so I split it in two. Hope you guys enjoy. Thanks for your patience. Things start to pick up now with the enemy revealed.


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